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Monthly Archives: October 2012

On November 2, 2012, Brainstorm Media releases “A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untold Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman.” The 82-minute 3D animated feature features the voices of Python alumni Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, John Cleese, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam. Graham Chapman’s dialogue is from an audio book he recorded with Harry Nilsson in Nilsson’s studio. Bill Jones, Ben Timlett, and Jeff Simpson directed the film for Bill & Ben Productions.

Born in Leicester, England, Chapman studied medicine at St Bartholomew’s Medical College and later at Cambridge. But, his professional career took a different direction. Through the 1960s, he wrote comedy for David Frost and others at the BBC. In 1969, the sketch show Monty Python’s Flying Circus premiered with Chapman as a member of the comedy troupe.

Chapman played the lead roles in Monty Python’s feature films Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Life of Brian.

Chapman wrote, produced, and starred in the ill-fated film Yellowbeard. Harry Nilsson wrote and performed a song, “Men At Sea,” for the film, but it wasn’t used in Yellowbeard. The song does appear at the end of Group Madness, a documentary about the filming of Yellowbeard.

Chapman died on October 4, 1989, from tonsil cancer which he had been diagnosed with in November, 1988.

Dolenz began working with producer David Harris a few years ago. As they discussed the album, Dolenz found himself telling stories such as attending a Beatles recording session for “Good Morning, Good Morning.” These stories insipired the selection of songs for the album.

Harry Nilsson is, undoubtably, the subject of many of Dolenz’s stories. “I was with him when he wrote a lot of songs. And of course, the Monkees were the first to record one of his songs.” The Monkees recorded “Cuddly Toy,” one of the first recordings of a song by Harry Nilsson. “Of course, I think Harry would have done very well with or without the Monkees, but it’s nice to think we might have had some role in helping him get started. We became very close after that; in fact, we became best buds.”